Chief Justice Koome Denies Calling for President Uhuru's Impeachment

Chief Justice Martha Koome has refuted reports that she has filed an application seeking to have President Kenyatta impeached for violating the Constitution.

Nation reported on Saturday that Koome asked the Appeals Court to declare that the president violated the Constitution by failing to appoint six of the 40 judges nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) three years ago.

Citing her appeal against a High Court ruling, the publication wrote that Koome sought a declaration that the only solution for the violation is to remove the president from office through impeachment. In the ruling, the High Court directed President Kenyatta to appoint the said judges and if he fails to do so, the Chief Justice takes over the function.

But through her attorney Charles Kanjama, Koome insisted that the president is at fault for failing to appoint the six judges as ordered by the High Court, but clarified that she had not advocated for his removal from office.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Chief Justice Koome has not made an application seeking the president’s impeachment,” lawyer Kanjama said in a statement on Saturday.

“The appeal merely notes that the appropriate remedy to the Katiba Institute petition is a declaration that the cure for violation of the Constitution is impeachment of the President or any other order that secures his direct accountability to the Court.”

Katiba Institute filed the petition in 2020 seeking to have Koome allowed to appoint the six judges in President Kenyatta’s stead. Lawyer Kanjama says the chief justice believes the president is the only State official who can sanction any appointments in the Judiciary.

“The role of appointing judges is given in the Constitution to the President and not the Chief Justice. It would create an unfortunate two-tier system in the Judiciary if some judges came into office without a presidential appointment,” Kanjama noted.

“The proper remedy to Katiba Institute, which went to court, is for the existing constitutional enforcement mechanism to be applied to deal with the President's refusal to appoint the six judges.”